Keeping The Light On
by TurboNerdQueen
Summary: Zhurrick Vigilante AU one shot


"And I need you!" He was at his wits end with her, the engineer trying desperately to think of some way to make his wife stay home. He stood in the middle of their bedroom and watched as she continued to dress, her appearance steely and twice as deadly as any force known to man. There was no use trying to persuade her to stay in tonight. Zhu Li had always been a stubborn woman.

Then… then he just wouldn't let her go. He would make her stay.

"I forbid you from leaving this apartment!" Varrick said firmly, raising his head high. That seemed to have caught her attention at last. He counted the seconds that passed before she slowly turned to look at him.

"You can not stop me from leaving, Varrick." It was all she said before turning her focus back to getting ready. It infuriated him that she was just brushing his concern off so easily.

"Like hell I can't! You want me to just… just what? Stand back while you go out galavanting around the city doing who knows what? Putting yourself in danger for nothing? I won't lose-"

Zhu Li turned on her heel and stood inches from his face. He knew he had made a mistake then. The fire in her eyes could make a wildfire look tame.

"I am not doing this for nothing! I am doing this for her! I'm doing this because I wasn't there to save her!" She shouted, her voice steadily rising with each heated word. Varrick surprised himself by not letting his emotions show on his haggard face, even if the ache in his heart intensified. The two stood in silence, Zhu Li's chest rising and falling with each heavy breath while he looked down at her with an almost pitying frown.

"Zhu Li… it won't bring her back. None of this will." His voice was soft-spoken yet it felt loud in the cramped bedroom. Her eyes were bright as she glared up at him. It was once a rare sight to see her shed even one tear, but after that night it became a common occurrence. He wanted to hold her tight and make them stop, wanted to help her in some way… but this was going too far.

"I'm begging you. Stay home. Just for tonight. Just for me." He pleaded, taking her hands in his. He always hated the thin layer of fabric that separated their touch on nights like this, hated how he would watch her patch up the rips and tears in her suit. Zhu Li opened her mouth to answer but stopped when there came a crackling noise from behind her.

"…requesting back up… officers down…armed and dangerous…"

She pulled her hands free from his grip and changed from the loving wife he knew to the cold hearted vigilante the city had come to respect. Once she was done with her attire, he wouldn't see her until maybe the next morning if he was lucky.

No, if she was lucky.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I have to make sure this doesn't happen again." She said with an air of finality, pulling on a long overcoat to cover up her outfit and walking towards the exit without looking back at him. These nights were the absolute worst; he would stay up listening to the police scanner, waiting to hear of something gone wrong and for her to return home in one piece. Neither would get sleep after this.

He walked out into the hallway just in time to hear the front door shut, the soft click echoing in the apartment. Varrick took a picture off the wall and returned to the bedroom, his legs giving out on him as he sunk on the mattress. He looked down at the picture in hand and smiled bitterly. Where had all the happiness gone? When was the last time he saw her smile like this? So genuine and earnest… it always choked him up to think back to those times. The little girl nestled between them beamed at the camera, glasses that were too big for her face slipping down her nose and a birthmark on her cheek that looked like a permanent smudge of dirt. He didn't know how long he had been staring at the picture when the crackle of the police scanner caught his attention.

"Two confirmed… repeat, two confirmed dead… under heavy fire from… request immediate backup…"

Varrick looked from the police scanner back to the picture, his hands shaking. She had her mother's smile…

"Make it back alive, Zhules."


End file.
